Ferrari 348 Challenge: the £130,000 race car that could have room to rise

Genuine Ferrari 360 Challenge race cars have surged in value in recent years, with prices climbing from a low of around £100,000 during the 2010s to as much as half a million today.

On that basis, logic dictates that this 348 Challenge could prove to be a sensible place to put some money – while also being a hoot to drive to the shops.

Ferrari launched the 348 Challenge in 1993 to capitalise on the growing popularity in Europe of one-make race series at a time when sales of regular 348s were moving at glacial speed. Around 45 Challenge cars were built at the factory, but most started life as standard, road-going 348s which were then modified using a specific parts kit fitted by Ferrari dealers.

The special bits included OMP safety equipment such as race seats, a rollcage, harnesses, a plumbed-in fire extinguisher and a battery isolator switch, while the car’s performance benefited from tuned exhaust and intake systems giving a moderate power boost (from 300bhp to 320bhp).

Lowered suspension along with race tyres and track-compound brake pads improved driving dynamics – but (apart from substituting slicks for road tyres and vice versa) the majority of 348 Challenge cars could still be driven to the circuit, raced and then driven home again in the best gentleman driver tradition.

Such was the success of the 1993 opening season of the European 348 Challenge series that it was expanded to America the following year, with popularity remaining strong until the launch of the replacement programme for the new 355 model in 1995.

And while the standard 348 has never been regarded as one of Ferrari’s finest, the Challenge versions deliver a very different and much-improved driving experience – not least because some of the components used to create them had been developed for the 355.

So as well as being a more-than-capable track car, a 348 Challenge is also far nicer as a road car than its ’standard’ siblings.

And Challenge versions don’t come much better than this example on offer at Motor Wagen in Spain which, by the looks of it, has never been used in anger on a race track (possibly since it was one of the 32 built in 1995, when the Challenge series transitioned to the 355).

With just 59,000km on the clock (36,600 miles), its original paint and wheels are in excellent condition while the race-prepared interior is more or less immaculate and with no signs of the rigours of racing.

Motor Wagen says the all-important gated manual gearbox shifts smoothly, the engine is sweet and that the car has no electrical problems, with lights, windscreen wipers, etc all working correctly and being fully up to standard for road use. Even the race seats are in decent nick, with not a tear in sight.

To us, and given the recent rise of values, this looks like a potential bargain. But we won’t know if we’re wrong or right until we see where 348 Challenge values stand in a few years’ time…

1995 Ferrari 348 challenge
On sale with Motor Wagen, Pineda de Mar, Spain. Asking: £130,000. motorwagenbcn.com

Dealer News

Tubular Bells Maserati still on-song

●When your debut album sells in the millions, your car options expand greatly. The first owner of this 1978 MASERATI KHAMSIN, above, below, was MIKE OLDFIELD, whose Tubular Bells LP in the ’70s became a smash after appearing on head-spinningly spooky film The Exorcist. The S-reg Khamsin is one of 71 RHD models made. It’s on sale at McGRATH MASERATI in Hitchin for £120,000.

● The UK car market has had its ninth consecutive month of growth, says the SOCIETY OF MOTOR MANUFACTURERS & TRADERS, with 94,236 new cars on the road in August. “Motorists are responding to the huge choice and compelling offers,” says Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. Four of the models in the top six are Chinese.

● “What an incredible car to drive – it’s pure joy and the sound is incredible,” enthused Ferrari F1 ace CHARLES LECLERC, who has taken this recently restored (Ferrari Classiche) RHD 1966 FERRARI 275 GTB/6C, above, for a spin at Fiorano. It’s on sale, £POA, at CARS INTERNATIONAL in Rochford, Essex.

● A survey of 1000 drivers over the age of 27 by car shopping site CARGURUS reveals that the VW GOLF is the nation’s favourite used car of the last decade, with the BMW X3 and AUDI Q3 making up the podium. Most important quality? Reliability, so said 62%, while six of the top 10 vehicles are SUVs.

● The 76 reg is here so let’s check the DVLA’s banned list. Crime and war are out so GE76 GUN is gone, while RU76 UKR won’t be seen on any G-Wagens soon. And the similarity of EA76 to ‘EATS’ has, alas, evicted a swathe of profanity-riddled plates.